All of the lights throughout the Parish Room were dim except for the brightly illuminated stage on Oct. 20. The audience anxiously waited for the stage crew to disappear. Finally, Alison Sudol skipped onto the stage, smiling brightly, accompanied by a roar of appreciation from the restless crowd. She opened the two-hour set with the catchy song, “What I Wouldn’t Do,” thus beginning a wholehearted and inspiring performance that will never be forgotten. At age 24, Alison Sudol is the front woman for her band, “A Fine Frenzy.” An accomplished piano player and closet guitarist, she is accompanied by four other talented band members. She has developed a wide fan base, but still remains quietly underrated, which is a shame for those who haven’t yet discovered her, but also a joy for her fans who enjoy pleasant, small-scale concerts. With her first album, “One Cell in the Sea,” Sudol introduced herself to the world as a passionate, soulful singer, with heart-rending lyrics and solemn melodies. Her music is quite ethereal, and she herself is lovely and endearing. With her sophomore album, “Bomb in a Birdcage,” released in September, Sudol shattered her fragile image with more upbeat, fierce melodies. Her most popular song from her first album, “Almost Lover,” in which she sings, “Goodbye my almost lover/goodbye my hopeless dream/I’m trying not to think about you/can’t you just let me be?” is overshadowed by songs like, “Blow Away” and “Electric Twist,” which are jaunty, light-hearted new-wave dance tunes. Sudol’s insight into nature and her attachment to the hearts’ innermost emotions, most evident in her lyrics, came out in her live set. Her performances were deeply moving, some quiet except for the sound of the piano and her passionate voice, especially in, “the Minnow and the Trout” and “Swan Song.” In her performance of, “Stood Up,” the most intense song on her new album, Sudol’s voice was overpowering as she sang, “We are not frightened anymore/We stood up/We stood up/And there are two of us there will be more/ they’ll show up/yeah, they’ll show up.” Her energy and devotion to the song mesmerized the audience, showing that some artists out there are still truly dedicated and captivated by their own music. [email protected]